Raleigh July 4 fireworks show features 2,000 shells manually lit

RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) -- Weeks of preparation go into putting together a large fireworks show. The company putting on Raleigh's event has been doing this type of thing for 135 years.

The company is called Pyrotecnico. It has done every type of show from a Super Bowl halftime to a political convention.

"We take it very seriously," Casey Knox said. "Just ensure safety and things to go off without a hitch."

Pyrotecnico is actually organizing hundreds of shows across the country this weekend alone.

"They're all special. They're all unique, you know? Every firework show is just a little bit different," Knox said.

For Raleigh's show, there are 2,000 shells prepared to light up the sky over Dix Park for 25 minutes. In some shows, the lighting of the fireworks is automated. But Raleigh's show this year features manual lighting of the shells.